The ARC-170 was jointly produced by Incom and Subpro Corporation. Like their other starfighter designs of its time, such as the lighter Z-95, and the heavier PTB-625, and NTB-630, the ARC-170 had a narrow spaceframe flanked by large engines. The ARC-170 also possessed an S-foil system, which helped to radiate heat, something that aided the fighter's shielding. This also provided additional stability during atmospheric flight.[12]

Using its front deflector shield projectors to disperse heat generated from air resistance, the ARC-170 could reach supersonic speeds in atmospheric flight .[12]

The ARC-170 was a departure from other starfighter designs of the Clone Wars era. Fighters such as the Alpha-3 Nimbus and the Eta-2 Actis were built to be small, fast, and maneuverable, at the cost of heavy weapons, shields, and hyperdrives. On the other hand, the ARC-170 was large, rugged, and capable of long independent operations.

The ARC-170 was often sent on dangerous scout missions and raids deep in enemy territory.[12] To allow the ARC-170 to perform these missions, the fighter was equipped with a Class 1.5 hyperdrive, and its nose was filled with powerful sensors, scanners, and jammers.

The ARC-170 carried enough consumables for five days of operation. However, the supplies and additional equipment had a price and the ARC-170 was quite slow. Durable armor and shielding, as well as two tail guns, helped the ARC-170 to survive when surrounded by swarms of smaller, faster enemy fighters, although it remained vulnerable to enemy anti-fighter guns.

The ARC-170 possessed powerful weaponry. It carried six proton torpedoes, and its wingtip-mounted medium laser cannons were unusually large for a starfighter.[12] ARC-170s were often used as the heavy-hitters in strike forces, escorted by V-wings and Eta-2s.

The ARC-170 was crewed by three clones: a pilot, a forward gunner who operated the wingtip-mounted lasers, and a tail gunner who operated the rear-mounted cannons. The fighter also carried an astromech droid to perform onboard repairs and navigation. It was also possible for the pilot to operate the wingtip laser cannons if a co-pilot wasn't available.[12]

During the Galactic Civil War, ARC-170s could be found in both Imperial and Rebel fleets, where they were considered elite craft.[19] As with all craft commissioned by the new Empire, ARC-170s were henceforth given the standard 'Imperial gray' color scheme, doing away with the variety of colorful markings that military vessels bore to identify their squadron affiliations with during the Clone Wars. Incom would go on to produce the T-65 X-wing starfighter, the successor to the ARC-170.

Queen Kylantha of Naboo also owned several old ARC-170s. Her personal ship technicians had rehauled a few of them and turned them into formidable fighters again. She gave one to an adventurer as a token of appreciation for helping the Wookiees Imarrra and Orrekazzapirr escape from captivity.[20]

The ARC-170 was named after "ART-170," the title of the artwork form by concept artist Ryan Church that inspired the finalized design. Originally, it was referred to simply as a "clone fighter" in the script for Revenge of the Sith.

The joint development of the ARC-170 by Incom and Subpro Corporations seems to contradict a HoloNet News report that claims the companies severed their partnership shortly before the onset of the Clone Wars. This issue may possibly be retconned by the fact that most of the design for the ship took place before the split. Even so, it was released as an Incom/Subpro design, and it is extremely unusual for design credit to continue to be shared between companies who have broken off relations.

In Star Wars: Battlefront II, the ARC-170 fighter is considered a medium starfighter, and equivalent to a T-65 X-wing starfighter. The game also only allows one individual to board it, rather than three to fill all the positions.[21]

In Labyrinth of Evil, the ARC-170 is stated to be equipped with multiple missile launchers. This, however, may be attributed to General Grievous' limited knowledge of the vehicles at the time, as the ships are described from his viewpoint.[17]

In 2005, LEGO released an ARC-170 set, which included three clone pilots (which oddly had V-wing pilot uniforms; this was due to technical limitations, however) and R4-D5. A strange thing about this set is that it had only one rear laser cannon. LEGO released another ARC-170 in 2010, which is more accurate in depicting the fighter (and pilots) and includes one standard clone pilot, Captain Jag, Kit Fisto and R4-P44. An Episode 3 Collectors Set (set 65771) was released in 2005. In the set was an ARC-170, a droid Tri-Fighter, a buzz droid, three clone pilots, R4-D5, an Episode 3 LEGO poster and a CD-ROM "From the LEGO Vaults."

In the Clone Wars episode The Zillo Beast, the ARC-170 squadron escorting the Y-Wings that drop the electro-proton bomb during the course of the episode have the same engine noise as the X-Wings in the Original Trilogy. This is probably implemented to highlight that the ARC-170 is the precursor to the X-Wing.